Michigan Science Center in Detroit to Open Dec. 26, 2012

Thanks to donors throughout the community, the former Detroit Science Center will reopen to the public as the Michigan Science Center on Dec. 26, 2012, featuring a new human body exhibit.

Thomas Stephens, chairman on the Michigan Science Center's new board of directors, made the announcement about the southeast Michigan museum's official opening on Dec. 4 at a press conference.

"We look forward to opening our doors and providing families a unique feature exhibit in a dynamic location where they can spend time together having fun, interacting with exhibits and learning while on holiday break and in the coming year," Stephens said, according to a press release.

A community effort

The Michigan Science Center is opening its doors to the community because of the new board – which worked on the opening plans – and also the more than 25 organizations that donated $5 million-plus to the museum, the release says. The museum closed in September 2011 because of financial struggles.

"We would not be able to open the Michigan Science Center doors and inspire children and their families to discover, explore and appreciate science, technology, engineering and math without their assistance, and for that we are thankful," Stephens announced.

What's in store?

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The hands-on museum will have a new exhibit, Bodies Human Anatomy in Motion, featuring more than "100 authentic human specimens," the release says. The exhibit will give guests a look inside the body – from the entire system to the specific organs.

There also will be more than 200 other hands-on exhibits for families to explore, plus five theaters – the Dassault Systemes Planetarium included. And families: Don't forget to swing by Kidstown, an area fine-tuned to suit young scientists.

The hope for the center is that it "inspires children and their families to discover, explore and appreciate science, technology, engineering and math" – aka STEM – the press release says.

The new schedule

Starting Dec. 26 through Jan. 27, 2012, the hands-on museum will have special hours. A full new schedule is set to kick off on Jan. 30. Hours are as follows:

General admission will be $12.95/adults, $9.95/children and seniors and free/ages 2 and under. The first IMAX or planetarium show is $5 and the second is $3.

For the Bodies Human Anatomy in Motion exhibit – including general admission – tickets are $20.95/adults and $17.95/children and seniors. The exhibit plus Human Body IMAX admission is $23.95/adults and $20.95/children and seniors.